Beat

CARSON, Calif. -- There was a new face at LA Galaxy training on Tuesday as former Chivas USA midfielder Laurent Courtois trained with the club.

Tuesday's session was primarily composed of reserve team players, but Courtois was present during the portion of training open for media availability. Signed by Chivas USA in August of 2011, Courtois appeared in 33 games while scoring three goals and one assist until he was released by the Rojiblancos last month. A left-footed player that can play in midfield and in defense, the Frenchman brings an extensive resume that includes stops at clubs in France, England, and Spain.

"He's a good guy, he's out of contract at Chivas, he's local, and he has the desire to continue to play," Associate head coach Dave Sarachan told LA Galaxy Insider on Tuesday. "We liked him as a player, he's a good person, and he wanted for us to have the opportunity to have a look at him. We thought 'why not? Good people. Good player.' He's going to train with us, but beyond that, we'll see."

One could speculate that with an MLS Reserve League match slated for Sunday evening against the Portland Timbers, if Courtois is successful this week, he may make an appearance with the club's reserve side.

ARENA: “I try to tell you guys that you have to be a little bit patient. Hopefully we can position ourselves first of all to be in the playoffs and second of all, to challenge in the conference for the first spot. But there is a lot of soccer ahead, but we need to be patient and grow along the way. Hopefully we're doing this at the right time.”

SARVAS: “That’s our target. When you play for the Galaxy, you have to fight for first position. Our target has been first place and we're going to run for it.”

JIMENEZ: “Hopefully. It’s a long season and some of the teams are dying right now. Hopefully, we can creep up and get back to the top. We talked about this being a six point game and it was really important for us.”

ROGERS: “It’s crazy, isn't it? To think that some of the other games would have gone our way like San Jose or some of the other games, we could have been on top already. You learn your lessons and you grow as a team during the season. I think that builds character.”

CARSON, Calif. – Another game and another impressive performance by LA Galaxy captain Robbie Keane.

A threat seemingly each time that he touched the ball, Keane notched two assists and set up several more scoring chances as the Galaxy won their second straight on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over FC Dallas. The two assists give Keane eight on the year, which is a league-high. The performance sealed quite a week for Keane, who scored two goals and two assists in two matches last week

However, Keane nearly missed out on LA's clash with Dallas, but passed a late fitness test in order to start on Sunday.

“I had a swollen knee so I had to get fluid taken out yesterday in the hospital,” said Keane. “It was kind of touch-and-go before the game, so I’ve come along way the last two days to get myself fit. Lucky enough I felt 80 percent.”

Although his status was in doubt, Galaxy boss Bruce Arena admits that it would take quite a blow to keep his captain off the field.

“He took a blow in a game against Columbus on Thursday and he was a last minute decision whether he could play tonight and you can see that he’s the last guy that’s not going to play,” said Arena.
He’d have to be in real bad shape not to play. So, his competitiveness, his hunger to play and to win is contagious.”

As for the league assist lead, just what did Keane think when he found out?

“Thanks for telling me. I don’t really sit and look at it to be honest with you,” said Keane. “As long as we win the championship at the end, I don’t care to be honest with you. It’s always nice, I like setting up goals so it’s always pleasant. I think the position where I play I like to score goals but I think certainly I also like to set up goals as well.”

ARENA: “Well, it’s close, not quite there. Tonight was one of our better games on the year. I thought we played very well on both ends of the field. Passing was much improved from the previous couple games. Our movement of the ball was very good. I think we again created chances, finished a couple tonight, could have finished a few more. Rock solid on defending restarts against a team that’s outstanding in the area of attacking restarts. So, I think tonight was a real good win for our team and this week was obviously a good week, so hopefully we can continue to get better. We are starting to now have close to our first group together, which has been close to impossible the whole year. So, I think we are beginning to see signs of becoming a better team.”

(On the defensive performance…)

ARENA: “Omar, A.J., Sean, and Todd played very well tonight. Carlo was real solid, made some excellent punches on defending corners, did a good job there. The midfielder defended very well against a good team, they are a very good team not an easy team to play with. So, tonight was a more complete, coordinated effort by our team.”

(On the play of Marcelo Sarvas…)

ARENA: “A great, great goal. You know we’ve gotten more out of Marcelo and [Juninho] over the last three games getting into the attack. [Marcelo and Juninho] played well tonight against an outstanding group in the middle of the field with Jacobson, and Michel, and Ferreira. They are good, and our guys held up well so it was a real good effort there.”

(On Keane becoming the assist leader in MLS and whether he is pleased…)

ARENA: “I’d like to see him score some more goals. I’m pretty greedy. He can get some goals as well. He’s a very good player. He can set up goals and he can score goals.”

(On Robbie Rogers’ showing…)

ARENA: “It takes a while, his fitness looked really good and his last 60 minutes were really good. A little unlucky [in front of goal]…He’s in good position. His width at times is really good. And Hector [Jimenez], I thought that he had an outstanding performance as well.”

(On the Galaxy being four points out of the Supporters’ Shield…)

“I try to tell you guys that you have to be a little bit patient. A lot of games ahead. There’s 15 important games left and two more at home than away. It’s going to be important. Hopefully we can position ourselves, first of all, to be in the playoffs and second of all, to challenge in the conference for the first spot. But there is a lot of soccer ahead, but we need to be patient and grow along the way. Hopefully we’re doing this at the right time.”

(On Charlie Rugg, Kenney Walker, Bryan Gaul training in Sweden and whether it could turn into a loan…)

ARENA: “It’s good experience for those players…Sure, that’s a club that we know very well.”

(On Robbie Keane’s role with this team…)

ARENA: “Robbie is the leader of our team, he is our captain. He is arguably our best player. Robbie has a great head on his shoulders; he’s a very competitive person. He took a blow in a game against Columbus on Thursday and he was a last minute decision whether he could play tonight and you can see that he’s the last guy that’s not going to play. He’d have to be in real bad shape not to play. So, his competitiveness, his hunger to play and to win is contagious. Besides, his quality, his leadership is critical. Tonight he showed the team that this game was important and he wanted to win and he was there.”

“They’ve got some big forwards. They’re a team with a lot of height, so we have to limit their chances especially because we have two or three guys over 6 foot and they’ve about six. It’s going to be a big part of this game. We have to limit their chances because they have quick guys who can whip balls in and big guys who can hold balls up front. It’s going to be a good battle for it.

- LA Galaxy center back A.J. DeLaGarza

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

OMAR GONZALEZ vs. Blas Perez

A true battle of the titans. Expect a physical battle between the two hulking players, who are likely to battle in the final third on every foray forward. Gonzalez will need to keep the Panamanian in front of him at all times, if he is to prevent him from testing the Galaxy net.

MARCELO SARVAS vs. David Ferreira

Expect the Brazilian to pressure the Colombian playmaker early and often as he looks to prevent the 2010 MLS MVP from creating opportunities for Dallas in the attacking third. If Sarvas can put the clamps on Ferreira then FCD will lose a major weapon in the offense.

GYASI ZARDES vs. FC DALLAS DEFENSE

Zardes has piled up the scoring chances over the past four games and he’s sure to get plenty against the shaky Keel. FCD conceded 18 attempts on goal to an inconsistent Chivas side earlier in the week, and are likely to allow plenty of room for the Galaxy to operate on Sunday. However, if Zardes gets past the Dallas back four, he’ll still need to beat FCD’s stellar goalkeeper Raul Fernandez.

CARSON, Calif. – Robbie Keane makes the LA Galaxy offense go, but LA may be without the Irish forward for Sunday’s clash against FC Dallas.

Keane was not present during the final 15 minutes of training on Saturday as the club wrapped up preparations for their match against FCD on Sunday. If Keane is unable to start his third match in nine days, then head coach Bruce Arena is likely to turn to either Jack McBean or Jose Villarreal to start alongside Gyasi Zardes.

Villarreal is the frontrunner as the forward drew a penalty in 29 minutes of action during LA’s 2-1 victory over the Columbus Crew on Thursday. If he does step into Keane’s boots on Sunday, the 19-year-old forward insists that he won’t allow the pressure get to him.

“I wouldn’t take [playing in place of Keane] as pressure," said Villarreal. "[I just have to] what I’ve been doing lately and what the coaches know that I can do. Just play well and provide as much for the team as I can."

As for what makes his pairing with Zardes different then when he partners up with Keane or Landon Donovan, Villarreal has a simple answer—pure youthful exuberance.

“It’s just a bunch of energy,” said Villarreal. “[You know that if] you’re not running then the other guy is running for you. It’s good to have that. That doesn’t happen a lot. It’s good to have people that you know and people that you grew up playing with.”

LA Galaxy center back Omar Gonzalez was announced among the top 10 vote-getters in the 2013 MLS All-Star Fan Best XI on Sunday afternoon.

The All-Star selection is the third of Gonzalez’s career as the 24-year-old center back was selected for the squad in 2010 and 2011. Joining him on the list is former Galaxy and current Chicago Fire forward Mike Magee, who has scored 11 goals this season.

Those players selected for the Fan XI received the most votes through three platforms—online at MLSsoccer.com, via text message, and via Twitter. Only 10 players were named to the team as an 11th player—a forward—will be selected as part of the AT&T MLS All-Star ‘In the Game’ Challenge. The player will be chosen based on the number of goals that fans score with that player in FIFA Soccer 13, with one goal equaling one vote. That forward will be announced on July 11.

The MLS All-Stars will face Italian club AS Roma at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. on Wednesday July 31 in the 2013 MLS All-Star Game. It is worth noting that just because a player is selected to the Fan Best XI, he is not necessarily included in the game day roster for the game. Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes will select players based on his own considerations and individual availability, but all players selected by the fans count as All-Stars.

CARSON, Calif. – Every time that Omar Gonzalez takes on FC Dallas, the spotlight on the LA Galaxy center back shines just a little brighter.

After all, as a Dallas native, he draws considerable attention from the media in Texas for his success with the Galaxy and the U.S. National Team. But on Sunday, he'll have plenty of attention on him for a totally different reason as he's immortalized in a bobblehead that will be given to the first 10,000 fans at StubHub Center.

However, Gonzalez isn’t too worried about the goings-on off the field; he’s simply focused on stopping a strong Dallas team that sits four points ahead of LA in the Western Conference standings.

“Dallas has had a pretty good first half of the season. They’re a team that’s really hard to beat. Their goalkeeper [Raul Fernandez] is playing really great and saving them in a lot of games. They’ve had a couple comeback wins so they have a lot of character and a lot of fight,” said Gonzalez. “This is a game where we have to have a lot of focus for 90 minutes plus. If we do have the lead, we have to keep them from scoring and play good football.”

For LA to keep Dallas off the scoreboard, Gonzalez must stop FCD’s ultra-physical Panamanian forward Blas Perez, who currently leads the club in goals with six.

“Blas Perez is a typical goal scorer. He likes to be in the box waiting for crosses and he’ll do anything to get his head on the ball,” said Gonzalez. “I think he’s very cheeky in box; he likes to make those little smart runs, so you just have to be aware. Make sure that he doesn’t get in behind and attack the ball before he does.”

As for that bobblehead of his, when asked about the figurine on Thursday, Gonzalez said that he had yet to see his own little-mini Omar.

But now that a few days have passed, what are his impressions?

“I’ve seen it maybe once. I didn’t really get a chance to exam it fully to make sure everything is correct,” said Gonzalez with a smirk. “It’s pretty funny to have a bobblehead…maybe I’ll give the guys from Dallas a bobblehead of their own.”